Can Saints keep the winning streak going against the Tangerines.
A year ago Saints showed that their reserve side was better than Blackpool's 2nd string in an FA Cup Fixture, in a game where Blackpool manager Ian Holloway got quite shirty about how he felt Saints supporters showed the Tangerines no respect, he felt that Premier division Blackpool deserved praise from the home crowd, OK he wasnt like Gus Poyet and demanding we clap them on to the pitch, but the inference was there, Holloway was a Premier manager and Blackpool a top flight club and "Third" division Saints should show them utmost respect and not even utter the slighest bit of witty banter.
11 months later and the pendulum has swung, both teams are back in the same division and it is Saints looking down on Holloway's Blackpool, however the lesson to be learnt from the change in fortunes is that in football things can change very quickly, so Saints have no time to swagger around and idle boasts, they unlike Holloway have to get on with the job in hand and that is beating Blackpool and gaining three points, three points that will keep us top of the league and will hopefully see us stretch that points gap between us and third place.
But the big question on Saints fans lips is whether Rickie Lambert will be fit to play and more to the point should he be risked, Lambert is crucial to Saints style of play or at least a player of Lambert's ttype is crucial and the proble is that without him we struggle for rythym and shape, the dilemma for Nigel Adkins could be whether the risk of playing Lambert is outweighed by any possible long term damage that could restrict him further.
If Lambert is able to play then I would opt for the same back four that faced Doncaster, although it has its faults its relaible at home and the crossing ability of both Fox and Richardson are weapons in the armoury that are often overlooked, but when you consider that in the league between them they have put in the final ball for 11 of Saints 38 goals from open play, it proves they are a potent force, in comparison only Guly & Lambert have more assists than Richardson who has six with the addition of Lallana on 5 being in front of Fox on 4.
In midfield i would revert Guly to the right to add the missing width with two from Cork, Schneiderlin & Hammond with of course Lallana on the left.
Up front I would throw in Barnard to partner Lambert to reinstate the combination that worked so well last year, Barnard has had another weeks worth of training and will now be that much fitter, get them playing togather again for as long as possible in the game and then Barnard if he hasnt quite got match fitness could be replaced by De Ridder, pushing Guly up front if neccessary to bring on fresh legs.
If lambert is not to be risked then I would suggest something a little different, I would still bring in Barnard but play him alongside Guly, to counter the lack of width on the right, I would bring in Butterfield at right back, and push Richardson forward, when Butterfield came in earlier in the season, he let no one down in that position and indeed created a goal with a sublime cross, this would keep our shape intact, but still offer that accurate crossing option from the right.
The key will be to keep the team as simple as possible, our success has been gained by playing a style and sticking with the players who can play it, perhaps the downfall is we are a little rigid and therefore cant adapt from that style easily as in the case of Lambert being missing we dont have a like for like replacement thats vital to it, but the key to keeping it going is yes to keep it fresh, but not to tinker with it too much, recognise whats been significant in its success and keep those key elements as much as possible, having to make changes through injuries is sometimes unavoidable, but when you do keep them to a minimum and dont change other personel around as this only creates confusion amongst the players.
Its a game that Saints are well capable of winning, if we do then the recent poor away defeats can be put into the perspective of the last six games and seen as a blip, that would mean 12 points from those six which is bang on target, indeed itsgoing to be difficult in the next few weeks as only wins will maintain that two point average in the current form guide and this perhaps emphasies how two losses close together can really put a team under pressure, but we have to now grind out wins until we can see those two away defeats slip out of our last six game cycle and hopefully be replaced by wins.